Folding device for packaging material

ABSTRACT

A device for folding a sheet of wrapping material around external surfaces of an article of parallelepipedonal shape is disclosed. The device comprises a revolver provided with wall members defining a plurality of cells, the revolver being so rotatable stepwise that each of the cells comes to rest successively at a first station, a second station, a third station and a fourth station of the device. The cells are constructed so to receive at the first station a sheet of wrapping material and so to receive at the second station an article to be wrapped that such sheet of wrapping material is disposed between the received article and walls of the cell in which that article is received, with lobes of the sheet projecting in a direction radial to the axis of rotation beyond a radially outward facing side of the article. Folder means are disposed at the second station, the folder means comprising a folder member rotatably mounted on carrier means reciprocatably displaceable along guide means, and drive means to displace the folder member between a first position - in which the folder member is radially spaced apart from the radially outward facing side of a cell at the second station - and a second position - in which the folder member is disposed next adjacent the radially outward facing side of the cell at the second station. The drive means, in displacing the folder member from its first position towards its second position, initially imparts rotational motion to the folder member relative to the carrier means and, subsequently to the initiation of the rotational motion, imparts such translational motion to the carrier means that - when the device is in use - the folder member is moved along the radially outward facing side of the cell at the second station to engage one of the radially projecting lobes and to fold the latter against that side of an article in the cell.

United States Patent [1 1 Schmermund [4 1 Oct. 14, 1975 FOLDING DEVICEFOR PACKAGING MATERIAL [22] Filed: Dec. 6, 1973 [2-1] Appl. No.: 422,484

[76] Inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 21, 1972 United Kingdom59033/72 [52] US. Cl. 53/234; 53/374; 53/378 [51] Int. Cl. B6513 11/36[58] Field of Search 53/224, 225, 232, 234, 53/374, 378

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,481,207 l/1924 Johnson53/378 X 1,545,513 7/1925 Peters 53/234 X 3,041,806 7/1962 Burt 53/224 X3,253,385 5/1966 Beerman 53/234 X 3,681,893 8/1972 DeBarge 53/374 X3,775,937 12/1973 Devan 53/374 X Primary Examiner-Travis S. MCGeheeAssistant Examiner lohn Sipos Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue,Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak [5 7 ABSTRACT A device for folding asheet of wrapping material around external surfaces of an article ofparallelepipedonal shape is disclosed. The device comprises a revolverprovided with wall members defining a plurality of cells, the revolverbeing so rotatable stepwise that each of the cells comes to restsuccessively at a first station, a second station, a third station and afourth station of the device. The cells are constructed so to receive atthe first station a sheet of wrapping material and so to receive at thesecond station an article to be wrapped that such sheet of wrappingmaterial is disposed between ,the received article and walls of the cellin which that article is received, with lobes of the sheet projecting ina direction radial to the axis of rotation beyond a radially outwardfacing side of the article. Folder means are disposed at the secondstation, the folder means comprising a folder member rotatably mounted'on carrier means reciprocatably displaceable along guide means, anddrive means to displace the folder member between a first position inwhich the folder member is radially spaced apart from the radiallyoutward facing side of a cell at the second station and a secondposition in which the folder member is disposed next adjacent theradially outward facing side of the cell at the second station. Thedrive means, in displacing the folder member from its first positiontowardsits second position, initially imparts rotational motion to thefolder member relative to the carrier means and, subsequently to theinitiation of the rotational motion, imparts such translational motionto the carrier means that when the device is in use the folder member ismoved along the radially outward facing side of the cell at the secondstation to engage one of the radially projecting lobes and to fold thelatter against that side of an article in the cell.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patant 0a. 14, 1975 wmv New it Q! 1 x AF a g y 93 fi ngwws %v a :1 J a. N V 9 N2 8 g R NAIR E N am kmv \mi R N8FOLDING DEVICE FOR PACKAGING MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a device for folding individual sheets ofwrapping material around portions of the external surfaces of successivearticles of parallelepipedonal shape.

In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 403,732 there is disclosed apackaging machine for wrapping block-like articles, such as cigaretteblocks, successively in two layers of wrapping material, the two layersbeing applied in respective revolvers following one on the other in aflow path through the machine. The present invention concerns animprovement in, or modification of, the invention disclosed in thatco-pending patent application, and relates to a folding device which maybe employed to form part of such a machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there isprovided a device for folding a sheet of wrapping material aroundexternal surfaces of an article of parallelepipedonal shape, the devicecomprising a revolver provided with wall members defining a plurality ofcells, the revolver being so rotatable stepwise that each of the cellscomes to rest successively at a first station, a second station, a thirdstation and a fourth station of the device, the cells being constructedso to receive at the first station a sheet of wrapping material and soto receive at the second station an article to be wrapped that suchsheet of wrapping material is disposed between the received article andwalls of the cell in which that article is received, with lobes of thesheet projecting in a direction radial to the axis of rotation beyond aradially outward facing side of the article, folder means disposed atthe second station, the folder means comprising a folder memberrotatably mounted on carrier means reciprocatably displaceable alongguide means, and drive means to displace the folder member between afirst position in which the folder member is radially spaced apart fromthe radially outward facing side of a cell at the second station and asecond position in which the folder member is disposed next adjacent theradially outward facing side of the cell at the second station the drivemeans, in displacing the folder member from its first position towardsits second position, initially imparting rotational motion to the foldermember relative to the carrier means and, subsequently to the initiationof the rotational motion, imparting such translational motion to thecarrier means that when the device is in use the folder member is movedalong the radially outward facing side of the cell at the second stationto engage one of the radially projecting lobes and to fold the latteragainst that side of an article in the cell.

Four is the most convenient number of cells to provide in such arevolver but, if desired, in principle any multiple of four cells may beprovided on the revolver. In practice, however, a revolver having 12 ormore cells may well be found to be too unwieldy and cumbersome tooperate efficiently. However, a revolver having eight cells may beconstructed within the principle of the invention.

A folding means incorporating a folding element which executes bothrotary and translational motion is a particularly convenient form offolding means to be provided at the second station of the foldingdevice,

such a folding means preferably being employed to fold the trailingprojecting lobe of packaging material, ie the lobe which is at the rearof the package as far as the direction of motion of the package aboutthe axis of rotation is concerned. With such an arrangement, thefolding, in the opposite sense, of the leading lobe of packagingmaterial may conveniently take place by means of a stationary foldingelement, while the cell executes its step of rotation from the secondstation to the third station. The folding means may thus include the endsurface of a stationary folding element, for example of sheet metal,past which a cell moves just after commencing its motion from theposition at the second station in which thecell comes to rest. Thefolding member which executes both rotary and translational motionpreferably acts on the trailing lobe when the revolver is stationary.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 419,467 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,221discloses a folding arrangement to be used at the third station of apackaging machine of the kind disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 403,732, that folding arrangement including folding meansincorporating a folding member which executes both rotary andtranslational motion. However, the present folding element differs fromthat disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 419,467, in that inthe present case nearly all, if not completely all, of the rotationalmotion of the folding element, which takes place in passing from thefirst position of the folding element to the second position, takesplace before the translational motion. This is a significant differencefrom the arrangement of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 419,567, inwhich the two kinds of motion take place simultaneously, for example byco-operation of a stationary linear rack member with a rotatable pinionin mesh therewith.

Conveniently, a common plate member is provided in the folding device toact as a support mounting for a set of guide rods which guide a carriageon which the folding element is mounted and or a housing having arotatable shaft passing therethrough and carrying cams forming part ofthe drive means.

It is expedient for the guide rods to be of linear construction and thusto guide the carriage to be reciprocable along a linear path, mountingmeans which carry the folding element being rotatably mounted on thecarriage in such a manner that the cams control both the rotationalmotion and the translational motion of the folding element.

A convenient construction is one in which the housing is provided withrocker shaft means passing therethrough, and mounted in roller orfriction bearings, the rocker shaft means carrying a pair of levershaving rollers mounted thereon to constitute cam followers cooperablewith the earns, the rocker shaft means also carrying a further leverarticulated to a connecting rod which is also articulated to themounting means, coupling means being provided to couple the rocker shaftwith the carriage.

In one construction, the guide rods extend vertically, and the carriageis reciprocable vertically.

Preferably, the arrangement is such that the folding element, in passingfrom its first position to its second position, executes initially apivotal movement relative to the carriage under the control of theconnecting rod, followed by a translational movement to bring thefolding element into contact with the trailing projecting lobe ofpackaging material, the translational movement being under the controlof the coupling means.

The coupling means may comprise a lever member articulated to thecarriage at one end and coupled to the rocker shaft at the other end.

' It is convenient for the parallelepipedonal article to be insertedinto each cell, when the cell is situated at the second station of thefolding device and to he inserted initially only up to half its lengthin the direction of the axis of rotation of the revolver, after whichpartial insertion the folding element can be actuated to carry out itsrotational and translational movements.

If desired, the rollers may be provided in twos, in such a manner thattwo rollers are mounted on each of the levers provided with rollers,each individual roller being arranged to follow the contour of arespective one of the cams.

A packaging machine may be constructed, which comprises two of the abovedefined folding devices, one being provided to act on a U-shaped web ofpackaging material intended eventually to form an inner one of twowrappers, for example of viscose or cellulose film, around a cigaretteblock, and the other being arranged to act on a further web of packagingmaterial intended to form the outer one of such two wrappers. In thiscase, individual revolvers are, of course, provided for the applicationof the two respective wrappers.

The rocker shaft means may comprise a central shaft portion and atubular shaft portion fitted on the central shaft portion, the leversbeing rigidly carried by the tubular shaft portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the present inventionwill now be more particularly described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I shows a front elevation, partly in section, of a folding deviceembodying the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a detail, from the front, of a folding element and a cellof the revolver, in two different positions of the folding element;

FIG. 4 shows a similar detail to FIG. 3, in a different position of thefolding element;

FIG. 5 shows a similar detail to FIG. 3 after a 5 anticlockwise movementof the revolver has taken place; and

FIG. 6 shows schematically the various folds to be applied to a web ofwrapping material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawing, numeral 453denotes a carriage slidable up and down on a plurality of vertical guiderods 454. A folding element 451 is carried by an arm 452 attached tomounting means in the form of a lever member 68 articulated to thecarriage and rigid with a further lever 459 (FIG. 2) which carries aroller 484 which runs in a guideway defined between a pair of flanges461 on a lever member 460. The guide rods 454 are carried by a supporthaving a top member 455, a bottom member 456 and side wall members 481.The support is carried rigidly by and abuts against the lower surface ofa plate member 77.

The plate member 77 also carries rigidly by its lower surface, spaced ashort distance from the support, a housing 479, 474 which carries a camarrangement for driving the carriage for its up and down reciprocatingmovement. A shaft 465 passes through the housing 479, and is providedwith a coupling element 471 at one end to coupled with a drive to rotatethe shaft 465. Mounted on the shaft 465 at intervals are double cams 482and 483 arranged in pairs as shown in FIG. 2, and a further shaftassembly in the form of rocker shaft means is shown above the shaft 465.The rocker shaft means comprises a central shaft portion 466 surroundedby a tubular shaft portion 467, the shaft portions 466 and 467 beingrotatable relative to one another. A double armed lever 468 in the formof a bell crank, rigid with the portion 467 of the further shaft,projects downwardly in FIG. 2 and carries on opposite sides thereof apair of rollers 470 (FIG. 1) each engaging one of the separate cams 483.Similarly, a double armed lever 469 in the form of a bell crank isspaced from the lever 468, rigid with the portion 466 of the rockershaft means, and carries a pair of rollers similar to the rollers 470 onopposite sides of the lever 469, and these rollers each separatelyengage one of the cams 482. Reference numeral 474 (FIG. 2) indicates abottom portion of the housing 479, 474. Bearing members 475, 477 and478, as well as roller or friction bearings 472, 473 and 476 areprovided for mounting the shaft 465 and the rocker shaft meansconsisting of the portions 466 and 467 in the housing 479, 474. Closureplugs and sealing devices, as well as distance rings, Seeger rings,wedge members and other suitable fixing arrangements may be provided asrequired.

Connection is made between the support 455, 456, 481 and the housing479, 474 by a lever 458 articulated to a thrust rod 457 (FIG. 2) carriedby the carriage 453, the lever 458 being carried at the other end by thefurther shaft. and such connection is also made by a lever 464articulated at its lefthand end (FIG. 1) either to the member 68 or toanother member connected thereto, the lever 464 being articulated at itsright-hand end (FIG. 1) to a lever 480 which, in similar manner to thelevers 468 and 469, is carried by the rocker shaft means. The furthershaft 466, 467 while being rotatable in the housing 479, 474 has nodrive directly applied thereto from outside. An opening 482 is providedthrough the wall of the housing 479, 474 to enable the lever 458 to passthrough the housing wall. The dual cam operated lever 468 drives thelever 464 in a reciprocating manner via the tubular shaft portion 467and the connecting lever 480, while the lever 458 is driven in anoscillating manner by the dual cam operated lever 469 via the centralshaft portion 466.

In FIG. 1, the letter H indicates the distance through which thecarriage 453 moves up and down in operationof the device.

FIG. 1 also shows a cell of a four-cell revolver, the cell being carriedby a mounting plate 213 of the revolver indicated generally at 351. Aholder for the cell is shown at 324/325. The revolver may form part of apackaging machine of the kind disclosed in US. patent application Ser.No. 403,732. The revolver comprises rotatably supported articlereceiving means and cell defining means provided by wall members of thearticle receiving means to define a plurality of parallelepipedonalshaped cells spaced at angular intervals about the axis of rotation ofthe article receiving means and each extending in a generally radialdirection relative to the axis. As indicated in the drawings, each cellhas a radially outward facing opening. each opening extendingsubstantially perpendicularly to the generally radial direction of thecells. Each cell is adapted to receive one parallelepipedonal shapedarticle. In FIG. 1, two positions of the folding element 451 are shown,one in solid lines at 451a. which represents the first position of thefolding element, i.e. that in which it is retracted out of the path of aprojecting lobe of wrapper material extending radially outwardly of therevolver from a cell approaching the second station (the station shownin FIG. 1). The position of the folding element shown in dotted linesrepresents that adopted by the folding element after folding a trailinglobe of wrapping material, i.e. the upper lobe in FIG. 1, against theportion of the surface of a cigarette block in the cell beyond whichboth the leading and trailing lobes project prior to folding.

In FIG. 3, the trailing lobe is shown at 64g, and the leading lobe at64/1. The wrapping material shown in FIG. 3 is an outer wrapper,characterised by the numeral 64. The numeral 63 in FIG. 2 indicates thata similar revolver may also be used in connection with a sheet of innerwrapper material for an American type of cigarette block. In FIG. 3there is also shown part of a stationary folding member 62, which actsto fold over, in the opposite sense to the trailing lobe, the leadinglobe, in manner to be described more fully later.

FIG. 3 shows the folding element 451 in broken lines in the firstposition at 451a, and in solid lines in an intermediate position 45lb.

FIG. 4 shows the same folding element 451 in the second position at451e, in which the folding element retains the upper or trailing lobe ofthe packaging material against the left-hand external surface portion ofthe cigarette block shown schematically only as representing fivecigarettes. In practice of course, the entire cell is full of cigarettesto form a block.

In operation of the device, each cell of the revolver receives aU-shaped web of packaging material either with two equally long lobesprojecting in a direction radial of the axis of rotation of the revolver(particularly convenient in the case of an inner wrapper sheet) or withthe leading lobe longer than the trailing lobe (particularly convenientin the case of an outer wrapper sheet). This occurs at the first stationof the machine (not shown in any of the Figures) from which the cellproceeds to the second station shown in FIG. 1, where a cigarette blockis introduced in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of therevolver, which is the axis of rotation, for example with an initialpartial introduction of the cigarette block into the cell so that theblock projects by half its length into the cell. If desired, at thismoment the folding element 451 may be moved from position 45111 toposition 451b and then to position 4510 to fold the trailing lobe over,which would, of course, be impossible if the cigarette block were notpresent at all in the cellv It is, however, convenient to carry out thisfold while the block is only half introduced into the cell, and thuswhile the block is held together in a cell of a preceding revolver or ina feeding mouthpiece. The presence of the folding element 451 does ofcourse contribute to the holding together of the cigarette block. Thecompletion of the introduction of the cigarette block into the cell nowtakes place, and

the trailing lobe thus conforms itself to the shape of the cigaretteblock as required. In motion of the cell which now takes place to thethird station of the device (not shown in any of the Figures), thestationary folding element 62 acts to fold over rearwardly the leadinglobe of packaging material. FIG. 5 shows the cell having advancedthrough 5 anti-clockwise from the second station shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and4, from which it is clearly seen that the folding of the leading lobe ofpackaging material has almost been completed. This is, of course,completed before the cell arrives at the third station of the device.

In moving from position 451a to position 4510, the folding element 451and the sliding carriage 453 are at all times under the control of thecams carried by the rotating shaft 465. The cams are arranged to drivethe folding element 451 in such a manner that initially it pivotsrelatively to the sliding carriage under the influence of the lever 464,and then it subsequently drops downwardly in FIG. 1 as a result of theentire carriage 453 being moved downwardly relatively to the guide rods454 under. the influence of the lever 458. When it is desired to retractthe folding element 451 back to position 451a this may take place byretracing the steps taken by the folding element 451 in passing fromposition 451a through position 451b to position 4516', or alternativelymay take place in a diagonal manner directly from position 4516 toposition 451a.

Some variation is possible in the precise relative timing of themovement of the folding element 451 and of the revolver cell, but it isimportant to ensure that as the cell approaches the second station ofthe device the folding element is then or has been retracted out of thepath of the projecting lobes of packaging material, so that it cannotdestroy or otherwise interfere with them, and that the folding elementis moved into its first or operative position only when a cigaretteblock hasbeen at least partially introduced into the cell at the secondstation.

On the right in FIG. 2 there are shown a leading lobe 63m and a trailinglobe 63k of inner wrapping material, of equal length in a directionradial of the axis of rotation of the revolver, and a leading lobe 64/1and a trailing lobe 64g of outer wrapper material, of unequal length.This combined representation in FIG. 2 merely indicates that thedescribed folding device may be used with either inner wrapper materialor outer wrapper material. Either inner or outer wrapper material mayfor example consist of viscose or cellulose film, and the inner wrappermaterial may, if desired, be tin foil or aluminium foil.

FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically the folding scheme followed in operationof the above described folding device, the trailing lobe projecting inthe direction radial of the axis of rotation of the revolver being shownat 63k-1 in broken lines in its unfolded condition and at 63k-2 in solidlines in its condition as folded over by the folding element 451.

After the leading lobe has been folded over, this lobe rests against theouter surface of the trailing lobe. If desired, the trailing lobe may beprovided with a strip of adhesive, for example by means of the nozzleshown in the drawing of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 410,158. Inthis manner. securing of the two folded lobes may readily beaccomplished. This is of particular advantage in the case of an outerwrapper. It may be preferred that an inner wrapper should not beprovided with adhesive.

The revolver, part of which is shown in the various Figures, may formeither revolver II or revolver ll] of US. patent application Ser. No.403,732.

The above described initial half insertion of the cigarette block intothe cell at the second station of the device may offer the followingfacilities;

a. the cavity of the cell is about half filled and the folding element451 can occupy the position 451C,

b. the folding of the trailing lobe is thus possible at this moment;

c. the cigarette block is held together all the time during the processof insertion into the cell, either in the previous revolver from whichthe cigarette block is being supplied or in a mouthpiece component, andalso in the above described cell at the second station of the device.

If precautions were not taken to ensure that the block is adequatelyheld together during insertion into the cell at the second station, thecigarettes might well fall out and lose their block configuration, beingloose individual articles. This is particularly important in the case ofthe application of an inner wrapper material sheet, and not quite soimportant in the case of an outer wrapper material sheet, since in thelatter case the inner sheet is already in position to assist in holdingthe cigarettes together in the block.

It can be an advantage that the side of the cigarette block which isradially outermost in the revolver which applies the inner wrapperbecomes the side radially innermost in the following revolver, whichapplies the outer wrapper. With this arrangement, the two side foldsoccur on mutually opposite sides of the block, so that they are notsuperposed one on the other. In such a case, it would be more difficultfor the packet to open spontaneously at an undesired moment if the outerwrapper sheet had no adhesive applied thereto.

I claim:

1. A device for folding a sheet of wrapping material around externalsurfaces of an article of parallelepipedonal shape, said devicecomprising, in combination:

a support;

article receiving means rotatably mounted on said support to berotatable about an axis;

cell defining means provided by wall members of said article receivingmeans to define a plurality of parallelepipedonal shaped cells spaced atangular intervals about said axis and extending in a generally radialdirection relative thereto, each cell having a radially outward facingopening each extending substantially perpendicularly to said generallyradial direction, and each cell being adapted to re ceive one saidarticle:

first drive means to rotate said article receiving means stepwise aboutsaid axis to cause each said cell to be arrested successively at a firststation where a sheet of wrapping material is introduced into one saidcell, a second station where said article is introduced axially intosaid cell such that said sheet of wrapping material is disposed betweensaid article and walls of said cell in which said article is received,with lobes of said sheet projecting beyond the said opening and in adirection generally radial to said axis, a third station and a fourthstation of said device;

guide means disposed at said second station;

carrier means mounted to be reciprocatably displaceable along said guidemeans; a folder member rotatably supported on said carrier means; andsecond drive means to displace said folder member between a firstposition in which said folder member is radially spaced apart from saidopening of said cell at said second station and a second position inwhich said folder member is disposed next adjacent said opening of saidcell of said second station said second drive means, in displacing saidfolder member from said first position towards said second position,initially imparting rotational motion to said folder member relative tosaid carrier means and, subsequently to said rotational motion,imparting translational motion to said carrier means, said translationalmotion being initiated only after said article has been partiallyintroduced axially into said cell and before said article has beencompletely introduced therein; whereby said folder member is moved alongsaid opening of said cell at said second station to engage one of saidradially projecting lobes and to fold said one lobe against the radiallyouter side face of said article substantially contemporaneously with theintroduction of said article into said cell.

2. A device for folding a sheet of wrapper material around externalsurfaces of an article of parallelepipedonal shape, said devicecomprising, in combination:

a support;

article receiving means rotatably mounted on said support to berotatable about an axis; cell defining means provided by wall members ofsaid article receiving means to define a plurality of parallelepipedonalshaped cells spaced at angular intervals about said axis and extendingin a generally radial direction relative thereto, each cell having aradially outward facing opening each extending substantiallyperpendicularly to said generally radial direction, and each cell beingadapted to receive one said article;

first drive means to' rotate said article receiving means stepwise aboutsaid axis to causeeach said cell to be arrested successively at a firststation where a sheet of wrapping material is introduced into one saidcell, a second station where said article is introduced into said cellsuch that said sheet of wrapping material is disposed between saidarticle and walls of said cell in which said article is received, withlobes of said sheet projecting beyond the said opening and in adirection generally radial to said axis, a third station and a fourthstation of said device;

guide means disposed at said second station;

carrier means mounted to be reciprocatably displaceable along said guidemeans;

a folder member rotatably supported on said carrier means; and

second drive means comprising a rotatably mounted shaft, a plurality ofcams mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, rocker shaft meansextending parallel to said first mentioned shaft and provided with camfollower means to engage said cams on said first shaft, first couplingmeans coupling said folder member to said rocker shaft means, and secondcoupling means coupling said carrier means to said rocker shaft means,said second drive means being to said folder member relative to saidcarrier means and, subsequently to said rotational motion, impartingtranslational motion to said carrier means; whereby said folder memberis moved along said opening of said cell at said second station toengage one of said radially projecting lobes and to fold said one lobeagainstthe radially outer side face of said article in said cell.

1. A device for folding a sheet of wrapping material around externalsurfaces of an article of parallelepipedonal shape, said devicecomprising, in combination: a support; article receiving means rotatablymounted on said support to be rotatable about an axis; cell definingmeans provided by wall members of said article receiving means to definea plurality of parallelepipedonal shaped cells spaced at angularintervals about said axis and extending in a generally radial directionrelative thereto, each cell having a radially outward facing openingeach extending substantially perpendicularly to said generally radialdirection, and each cell being adapted to receive one said article:first drive means to rotate said article receiving means stepwise aboutsaid axis to cause each said cell to be arrested successively at a firststation where a sheet of wrapping material is introduced into one saidcell, a second station where said article is introduced axially intosaid cell such that said sheet of wrapping material is disposed betweensaid article and walls of said cell in which said article is received,with lobes of said sheet projecting beyond the said opening and in adirection generally radial to said axis, a third station and a fourthstation of said device; guide means disposed at said second station;carrier means mounted to be reciprocatably displaceable along said guidemeans; a folder member rotatably supported on said carrier means; andsecond drive means to displace said folder member between a firstposition - in which said folder member is radially spaced apart fromsaid opening of said cell at said second station and a second position -in which said folder member is disposed next adjacent said opening ofsaid cell of said second station - said second drive means, indisplacing said folder member from said first position towards saidsecond position, initially imparting rotational motion to said foldermember relative to said carrier means and, subsequently to saidrotational motion, imparting translational motion to said carrier means,said translational motion being initiated only after said article hasbeen partially introduced axially into said cell and before said articlehas been completely introduced therein; whereby said folder member ismoved along said opening of said cell at said second station to engageone of said radially projecting lobes and to fold said one lobe againstthe radially outer side face of said article substantiallycontemporaneously with the introduction of said article into said cell.2. A device for folding a sheet of wrapper material around externalsurfaces of an article of paRallelepipedonal shape, said devicecomprising, in combination: a support; article receiving means rotatablymounted on said support to be rotatable about an axis; cell definingmeans provided by wall members of said article receiving means to definea plurality of parallelepipedonal shaped cells spaced at angularintervals about said axis and extending in a generally radial directionrelative thereto, each cell having a radially outward facing openingeach extending substantially perpendicularly to said generally radialdirection, and each cell being adapted to receive one said article;first drive means to rotate said article receiving means stepwise aboutsaid axis to cause each said cell to be arrested successively at a firststation where a sheet of wrapping material is introduced into one saidcell, a second station where said article is introduced into said cellsuch that said sheet of wrapping material is disposed between saidarticle and walls of said cell in which said article is received, withlobes of said sheet projecting beyond the said opening and in adirection generally radial to said axis, a third station and a fourthstation of said device; guide means disposed at said second station;carrier means mounted to be reciprocatably displaceable along said guidemeans; a folder member rotatably supported on said carrier means; andsecond drive means comprising a rotatably mounted shaft, a plurality ofcams mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, rocker shaft meansextending parallel to said first mentioned shaft and provided with camfollower means to engage said cams on said first shaft, first couplingmeans coupling said folder member to said rocker shaft means, and secondcoupling means coupling said carrier means to said rocker shaft means,said second drive means being adapted to displace said folder memberbetween a first position - in which said folder member is radiallyspaced apart from said opening of said cell at said second station - anda second position - in which said folder member is disposed nextadjacent said opening of said cell of said second station - said seconddrive means, in displacing said folder member from said first positiontowards said second position, initially imparting rotational motion tosaid folder member relative to said carrier means and, subsequently tosaid rotational motion, imparting translational motion to said carriermeans; whereby said folder member is moved along said opening of saidcell at said second station to engage one of said radially projectinglobes and to fold said one lobe against the radially outer side face ofsaid article in said cell.